


Polybenders

by Duke_of_Skibbington



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Gen, Original Character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-24 11:42:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4918207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duke_of_Skibbington/pseuds/Duke_of_Skibbington
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The four elements are: Air, Water, Earth and Fire. Nobody has been able to truly master even two of them. Even the Avatar is more of a jack of all trades than a true master.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What is bending?

# Philip

Bending is mysterious, there are many questions about it. Nobody is exactly sure of its source. There are many different traditional stories about its origin. The people of Hellas believed in many Gods. They believed that four of the Gods were the original benders. Zeus, lord of the sky was the original airbender, explaining why all the greatest leaders in this world are airbenders. Helios, God of the sun was the first firebender. Poseidon was the first waterbender and Demeter was the first earthbender. According to Christian tradition, bending was distributed down to us by a single deity. I don't believe a single word of any of them. The people of Asia - the far off world where the nations of the world are divided by the four elements themselves - they believe it came from Lion Turtles, who in turn learnt it from the moon, sky bison, dragons and badger moles. Similarly, I think that it is nonsense.

If I wish to know the origin of bending, I'll have to compare two very strange elements.

Fire and air are strange elements. While water and earth are in no way similar to each other or any of the other elements, fire and air share great similarities. To start, both require a source of air to bend, as we know that fire can not survive in a vacuum. Benders of both elements can control their temperatures with their breathing alone. They even fight in the same way. Airbenders and firebenders in the military both rely on quick and lethal jabs, more concerned about speed than accuracy and precision.

What is most astounding is what can be called combustion bending, the most terrifying of them all. Through the concentration of one's chi, a skilled bender can compress and combust the air around them. This skill, although being known as a firebending subskill, further blurs the boundary between the elements of air and fire.

Although there is no way to be sure, there is a possibility that firebenders and airbenders share a common ancestor, one not shared by their earthen or water counterparts. Is there a missing link between energybending and firebending? Could firebending simply be a more or less advanced form of airbending?

_Is it possible to control more than one element?_

Bending appears hereditary, if both parents are benders, the offspring is likely to have bending capabilities of the same element. However, that is where it differs from hereditary traits. Lets say, for example, a mother has a big nose and a father is tall, the offspring is likely to inherit traits from both parents and be tall with a big nose. However, in all documented cases of offspring between parents of different elements, the child will **not** have two elements or an intermediate form.

According to Asian legend, a person known as the _Avatar_ can bend all four elements and reincarnates upon death. They claim the Avatar is inhabited by some sort of powerful spirit. That's preposterous, we all know that there are no spirits... not since we drove them out a hundred thousand years ago. Still, the portal between our world (Europe) and Asia is finally open. Perhaps it's time we pay our long lost relatives a visit. They may have great empires and cities, tall buildings that scrape the sky. They may have the legendary Avatar. We never know, they might be tribal people that would not object (in any meaningful way) to our colonisation.

_What is Asia?_

I forgot to explain what Asia is, how typical. Well, since I'm writing in pen and not pencil, I'll just have to place it down here. There are two worlds, Europe and Asia. We live in Europe. The two worlds were once connected through a portal in the middle of Londinium, from where I write. I am the King of Britannia and I shall claim Asia in the name of the glorious empire!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Philip is somewhat based on me, the Duke of Skibbington, mostly in terms of appearance and personality. However, he does have personalities of other people sprinkled in.


	2. First contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra reminisces about the previous year, only to be interrupted by very peculiar strangers.

# Korra

This last year has just been so hectic. I recovered from my injuries after three years, defended Republic City again and defeated Kuvira. I'm the Avatar and defending the balance of the world is what I do. Kuvira really gave me a run for her money. Her spirit vine cannon backfired and tore open a portal into the spirit world. Asami and I have travelled to the spirit world on a lovely, romantic vacation. Now, I'm just chilling out in the pool with Asami in her massive mansion, which surprisingly was not destroyed in the invasion.

My arm is wrapped around her shoulders. I then took my arm off her and submerged myself underwater. I am very good at holding my breath, I am a waterbender. I know I am showing off, but I don't really care. Asami likes it. Well, she hasn't told me otherwise. Asami pulls me up and I can feel the panicked desperation in her tugs. I cough up some disgusting pool water, "What is it?"

Asami isn't saying anything, but I can tell by her pale face that something was wrong. With a limp hand, she turned my head to a wall. The wall began to bubble and hiss violently. It fell in on itself and disappeared, as if it is being eaten. As if it is eating itself. The wall was replaced with a waterfall. I lift my hand and flick my wrist in its direction, but I just can't bend it. I swear I can see men on the other side of it. They are wearing white coats and all three of them have brown hair.

I have no idea who they are, but it is best to assume that they are dangerous. I can't let anything bad happen. Not again. Not after Amon, Unalaaq, Zaheer and Kuvira. I climb out of the pool and hoist out Asami, then proceed to dry us off with waterbending. I stand in a fighting stance and raise a large tendril of water as the men walk through the waterfall without getting wet.

They speak in funny accents which sound rather civilised and sophisticated. The tall skinny one blurts out, "So this is what it smells like? Not bad... not great, either."

Asami is standing by my side. She doesn't have her gloves or bending, but her fists should do the trick. "Stand back!" I yell to the men who do not seem to have taken any notice. They seem to be walking leisurely and muttering about the Avatar and the expulsion and other stuff that I don't understand.

"Stand back or I will attack!" I warn one more time.

Still, they take no notice. I threw my stream of water at the curly haired one to grab his attention. His back was facing me, so I assumed it would be easy to hit him. Suddenly, he turns around, extends his palm and blows the water into a fine mist that returns to the pool.

"Ah!" He exclaims, "The natives are attacking. See Chris, I told you they were the aggressive type who attack before knowing who you are then complain when you beat them."

The tall one with the spiked hair and muscle responds, "All right, I'll pay you later."

I send off Asami to call for help. I am not going to take chances with these people. They outnumber me 3:1 but I am the Avatar. I keep an eye on all three of them. They're probing for a weakness but cannot find one.

The one who called me a native appears to be in charge. He says to me, "Calm down, Barangaroo. Stand down and let us pass. Or do we have to use force?"

"What do you want? Where did you come from?" I reply.

"We came from a distant world. What we want is none of your business."

"Well then," I throw three great streams of water, one for each of them, "you'll have to use force."

The men avoid all of them. The curly haired one breaks it on his palm, the skinnier one returns it to me and the tall one side-steps it.

The leader nudges the skinny one on the shoulder. The skinny one jumps into action and exchanges water whips and ice shards. Neither of us are able to land an affective hit, but at least I am holding him off. Or is he holding me off? Do they also have reinforcements coming? What the hell do they want? Do they want to invade us or something? My thoughts are cut short by the arrival of Mako and Bolin. Bolin slings a sack to the ground and opens it, revealing many rock disks.

Now that they don't have numbers on their side, we are on the offensive. They dodge and parry our attacks with minimal effort. There is something different about the way they bend. It is more rigid than how we do it. They seem incapable of great and powerful swirls and kicks but their attacks are efficient and pack a punch.

The tall man appears to be a powerful firebender who can fight on equal terms with Mako. He doesn't seem to care about defence, rather, he attempts to overwhelm Mako with a merciless barrage of fire.

The waterbender jumps over Bolin's rock disk and throws a stream of pool water at him, which strikes him in the arm. Bolin raises a disk with his uninjured arm and throws it at his foe. The disk collides with his enemy's chest and knocks him over.

Now that their waterbender is down, it's time to get across the pool. I waterbend it frozen and charge over the ice. I charge at the leader, who despite not doing anything, seemed to be calling the shots. I ignite a fireball in my hands and see him mouth the word "Impossible."

I get within striking distance of him. I'm close enough to cast him down with one punch to the face. Just as I get close, he extends his palm and touches me in the stomach. I go flying through the air and skid on the ice pool. How is he so strong?

He stands in his place pushes a large, concentrated gust of wind at me which knocks me over as I stand. I collide into the wall. "Wait!" I request "You're an airbender?"

The three men stop their attack. The leader speaks to me "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? _And how did you bend two elements_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Barangaroo was the name of an Aboriginal interpreter during the early days of colonisation.


	3. Deals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philip has made contact with the natives of Asia. Now it's time to open diplomatic relations.

# Philip

One of the natives just bent water _and fire_. Astounding. I must find out how she managed that. Could she be the legendary Avatar? And more to the point, why was she so shocked that I was an airbender? My men are pelting them into submission. We had crossed the pool, cut off their escape route. Their backs were literally to the wall. Except for that non-bender lady, who was frozen to the ground by Nicholas.

"Cease fire!" I shout to them and they promptly stop. Just in time, too, Nick was going for the kill. Time for introductions and the classic, if not a bit clichéd line.

"I am Philip Hellene, King of Britannia, hero of the Colonial Uprising, vice chancellor of the University of Acadæmia. I have spared your lives, despite your attempts to destroy mine. Now, take me to your leader!" I could feel my own massive grin as I spoke those words. I've always wanted to say that! Surprisingly enough, they did take me to their leader... after I remembered to free them. I left my friends behind with a few members of the local police force, as part of the deal.

They walked me out of the giant building and down the streets. We walked past a few restaurants. By jove, they smelt like MSG and soy sauce. I didn't like it. I looked into the window and saw the food they were selling. Roast duck, crispy skin chicken, yum. Then some stir fried leaves drenched in sauce. I never very much liked any source except for gravy. This world was entirely different to our own. People in tents were shouting across the streets, trying to sell us God knows what.

"So," I say to the tanned native woman, "what's your name?"

"My name is Korra," she says with a slight hint of resentment in her voice, "these two boys are Mako and Bolin, the lovely lady by my side is Asami Sato."

"Pleased to meet you." Standard pleasantries, you know, but I really am pleased to meet my native guides. They have names. Then again, they seem to be a remarkably civilised society. Much more civilised than people in some of the lands we settled, who may as well have been throwing faecal matter around and calling it food. All aside, this is a nice place. We finally reach a boat that takes us to an island with a great temple.

The air is much fresher on the island. I like it. My stomach grumbles. I'm sure _Korra_ can hear it.

"Don't worry, we'll be at Tenzin's soon and he will serve up some food." She reassures me.

I straighten my black bow tie as we walk. If I am going to meet their leader, I might as well look my best. This is all too easy. I couldn't have planned for it to be any better. Am I being tricked? I suppose that if I am, this would be great pretext for an invasion. Calm yourself, Philip, you're not here for invasion, you're here for trade and scientific endeavour. I meet who I assume is Tenzin in a large but modestly decorated dining room. There are many people sitting down for lunch on different tables.

I am greeted by a tall bald man with an impressive beard and an arrow tattoo running along his head. He greets me with a bow. I awkwardly return the gesture.

"Greetings, my name is Tenzin," he introduces himself.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Philip."

I then extend my hand and he shakes it. At least he is familiar with hand shakes. Following his lead, I cross my legs and sit down on the floor at the low table. I sit down and watch for a while, trying to figure out how they eat with two sticks. I try and fail a few times, dropping rice everywhere.

I take a sip from a cup containing a coloured liquid. It's delicious. "What is this called?" I asked.

"It's called tea," Tenzin replies.

"And you drink this all the time?" I am surprised.

Everyone nods. I finish my cup. "You see, in my world, we drink something called beer. If you drink to much, you get terribly drunk."

He pours me another cup of delicious tea. This would be a valuable commodity indeed. "So, this tea," I say, "any chance you could export this in large quantities to my country? We'll pay you in silver or gold or whatever you like."

The girl who makes the Avatar blush, I believe her name is Asami now speaks to me, "Tenzin is from the Air Nation and he doesn't do trade, but I deal with it and I know someone who would be happy to help. Out of interest, how much would you value a box of tea?"

I take another sip and give it a good deal of thought. What's the lowest they would accept? "I think a fair crate of this tea would be worth about, maybe 20, 30 pounds of silver."

I see Korra's arm vanish. I was distracted by Asami. Seems like she was trying to nab my tea. Heheh. I take a sip. It's quite hot. She heated it up! Meh. I blow onto the tea and my breath becomes a visible stream. Tenzin's mouth drops.

"You're an airbender!" He says with hope in his eyes.

"Yes I am," I respond, "is there something wrong with that? There are loads of airbenders! Why look at all of the airbenders in this room."

Everyone's face drops. Now I realise. "Are these the _only_ airbenders?" I don't need a response, their faces say it all. "What happened?"

None of them look willing to speak first. Finally, Korra speaks up, "There was a war that lasted 100 years. The Air Nomads were destroyed in the very first year. My past life, Avatar Aang managed disappeared and got frozen in ice for 100 years then returned at the end of the war as a 12 year old boy."

"And then on Harmonic Convergence," Tenzin says "some non-benders from around the world became airbenders. It's a miracle."

I've formed my hypothesis about it and I think I can explain it. "I wouldn't call it a miracle. There must have been _some_ interbreeding before the war. Now let us say that some people are one 256th Air Nomad, they may have an inactive airbender gene. That could be switched on by an event such as Harmonic Convergence."

They take a while to absorb the information but eventually accept it. Also, this woman admitted to being the Avatar. If only I could study her...


	4. Eleni

#  Eleni 

Hello, I am Eleni. I am a historian at the University of Anatolia. I had heard of experiments conducted in Britannia that established a link between our world and another. One that the King of Britannia claims to be where the Avatar resides.

I used my father's position as Sultan to organise a diplomatic expedition to Londinium, the capital of Britannia. I did not have anyone to meet, aside from the parents of the 20-year-old King. That made it easy for me to sneak through the portal, carrying with me a few pens, a pencil and a notebook.

When I walked through the portal, I was greeted by a scowling woman in metal armour and five of her men. Two tall, Greek-looking men stood by my side, wearing lab coats with the Britannic crest on the breast pockets.

"Not another one! Who are you?" The woman barks at me.

"I am Eleni of Anatolia," I reply "and I am here to see the Avatar."

"Nobody is allowed past this line." The police chief was referring to what was actually a series of two fortifications. One, manned by the two men was made of ice. The other was metal and manned by the armoured men.

The pool in the middle was only half full, there were splashes of water everywhere, charred pieces of wood, smashed tiles and rocks and even the odd splatter of blood. This was looking like a war zone.

"Come on, you two. I know you are under orders to secure the landing ground. What are you waiting for?" One of the officers taunted.

A short but stocky man walked in through the portal and slung a bag on the ground. He opened it and lots of rock discs spilt onto the floor. The skinny man pointed and said "Him."

"Ah, Stelio! How good of you to come!" The man with spiked hair greeted his friend.

Stelios smiled. Unlike the others, he was wearing khaki military dress. He had to broad swords strapped to his back. I know that in modern warfare it is common for all Britannic officers to carry but one sword and around their waist. This guy must be a beast!

"Everyone, attack the aliens before they bring more reinforcements!" The woman commanded. Her men began attacking the three foreigners with metal cables. Stelios smacked them away with his swords, the rest used fire and water.

They launched counter-attacks of their respective elements. The waterbender realised that by spraying them with a fine mist, they would have trouble blocking it. Then again, it only served as to annoy them.

Stelios runs forward and engages in a battle of steel with an officer. He strikes his opponent's metal arm numerous times until he gives up and kicks him in the chest.

The waterbender doesn't move at all. He doesn't even attempt to dodge. The leading woman ensnares his wrist with a metal cable. She attempts to pull him forward. "You're under arrest!" She declares.

He merely smiles and holds the cable with his other hand. The metal becomes water and drops to the floor. "Elemental conversion! A little something Philip taught me."

The police don't seem to notice me. That is because I have remained perfectly still.

Sooner or later, everyone collapses, panting. The scowling woman yells to the spiky haired one "Chris! Just give us a breather! We'll call this match a draw..."

A very tall woman with black hair walks into the room. She notices me. "Hi. I'm Asami Sato and who are you?"

I explain that I am Eleni, a historian who wishes to meet the Avatar. She invites me to dinner with the Avatar and a guest.

Asami

I hear a lot of noise in my estate. Must be those strangers and the police fighting again. I swear, they've been at it for ages. They seem to be fighting for the sheer enjoyment of fighting. I never found it enjoying, myself.

I walk up the stairs and enter what was once my pool. They've all collapsed and are panting. Actually, there is one person still standing - a short, tanned girl. She's pretty cute. Not as good looking as Korra, of course, but... oh whatever.

"Hi. I'm Asami Sato and who are you?" I introduce myself.

"Hello, Asami. I'm Eleni, a historian from the same world as these men, but a different nation. I am the daughter of the Sultan of Anatolia and I am here to meet the Avatar." She says in a rather sweet voice.

When she said _Sultan of Anatolia_ , the two men gave her suspicious glances.

"Well, I'm having dinner with the Avatar and a certain King Philip in an hour. Would you care to join us?" I offer.

"That would be most appreciated." Clutching her bag, she steps around the pool and avoids the shattered tiles. She finally makes it to the end and I take her to my Satomobile. Or is it a memobile? Regardless, I take her to Kwong's Cuisine. We enter under my booking and find the large, round table where the Avatar is sat.

"Where is Philip?" I ask.

Korra simply shrugs.

I sit down and pull out a chair for Eleni. Korra flashes both of us a death stare.

"So," she asks awkwardly, "what are you doing here?"

Eleni shuffles in her seat, "I am a historian and I wanted to learn about your culture. I'm from a different world than you... yeah..."

Korra nods, "What do you want to know?"

"Wait, Philip?" Eleni asks, "Philip of Britannia?"

"Yes, what about him? You know him?" I ask.

Eleni nods, "I've heard of him."

Korra says "What do people say about him?"

Eleni replies "Eh, some say he's great, others say he's a massive-"

"Can't we talk about this some other time?" I ask, not wishing to spoil the mood.

_FWUMP_. A man in a smart black suit sinks down into a seat opposite Eleni. "I've been hearing about your Hundred Year War. From the looks of things..." he looks into a book, "can't read this, too foreign." He places the book on the table. "Now, what were we discussing? Hmmm... tea trading... naughty border guards... ah yes, may I have some blood samples?"

Korra is shocked, "Why would you want my blood?"

He turns his head slightly and opens his mouth to explain. However, he suddenly chokes on his words. He goes stiff and straightens his back. His voice becomes more formal and less high-pitched on the vowels. "Pleased to meet you, I'm my majesty - his majesty... I'm Philip, King of Britannia. Who are you?"

"... Eleni, daughter of the Sultan of Anatolia..." Eleni is blushing uncontrollably. Philip is not blushing, but his smile is so wide, I reckon his mouth will rip. We've got to try to set them up. That'd be cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eleni is based on a real person.


	5. Fatal dating

#  Philip 

So... yes... I had something to say... but I forgot it. That always happens to me, especially when it's important. _Was it important?_ I have no idea. I don't suppose I care, either... _sod it_. Anyway, I must be nervous because of this date with Eleni. I reckon not even the great Lord has any understanding of how I pulled off this - or should it be, pulled this off?

We were talking for a bit, making small talk. Then suddenly, she blurts out, "How old are you, Philip?"

I grin and respond, "Biological or chronological?"

She places her index finger on her cute chin and says in her cute voice, _okay, Philip, they get that she's cute_ , and finally says "Tell me both in the order in which you offered them."

I lean back in my hard, wooden seat and rest my arm on the back. It may not look like a sofa, or indeed be a sofa, but that's what they told me in School, and I showed them. "Phillip," they say to me, "you won't never become nothing if you lean on your chair." Bloody triple negatives. Huh. Doctor Philip Hellene. I showed them. Anyway, I say "Biologically, I'm about 20, 25 years old."

She smiles at that, she mustn't be very far off.

"Chronologically, I'm 200..." she frowns, "around 2000..." her frown intensifies, "I don't know, past 2000 years ago, there haven't been any reliable calendars."

Her frown lifts into a curious smile. "Where are you from?"

I navigate (?) with my choppy sticks (I think they were called) and manage to slurp up some noodles.

I raise my sticks "Athens. You know about the Persian Wars, don't you?"

She nods uncertainly.

"Yup, I fought there at the battle of Athens, long ago."

"I've never heard of the Battle of Athens, she says "I've heard about every other battle, but not that one. I don't believe you did." She is challenging me. Very well.

I scratch my earlobe, sneakily remove a ball of puss and discard it. "After Thermopylae, the Persians started to advance on Athens. The entire army retreated. My friends and I were the only ones left to man the walls. We put up a good fight. None of us died, but we were forced to discard our spears, swords and even our shields. We were backed into the Parthenon. There were about 100 of us all together, by the end, there were five of us, they are still alive today - me, Chris, Nicholas, Stelios and Ephialtes."

She was intrigued, that, I could tell. "How did you survive?"

I've just had a sudden memory gap. I have no clue how we survived. "We must have gotten lucky..." my voice trails off. I remember the flames engulfing me and my friends. I remember the screams of agony and the smell of burnt skin. _I died_... but how on earth is that possible? Then again, how am I over 2000? Am I?

The waiter came up to us, dressed in formal black tie, a dinner jacket, or a _tuxedo_ , for those in the western colonies. That's odd, this was an informal venue. He handed me a letter and stated "For his majesty."

Who on earth told him who I am? Doesn't matter, I read the note. It is handwritten, the handwriting is familiar.

_Dear Philip,_

_I wish to inform you of great treachery. The research team has opened a second portal into a barbarous world._

"Who made this order? I did not authorise this." I shout, "Sorry Eleni, I must go, this is of great impor-"

I am rudely interrupted. I feel a sharp pain in my chest, one that pierces through my ribs. I think my lung has been punctured. I can feel my breath becoming ragged and painful. Every time I inhale, it feels like razorblades are ripping apart the inside of my chest. My attacker is twisting the knife. I grab his arm and notice the white cuff of the waiter. Taking a napkin, I carelessly remove the blade from my ribs. "I wouldn't have minded if you had just stabbed me, old boy, but you interrupted me mid-sentence with a very pretty lady," I thrust the knife into his throat and leave it there. I kick him in the goolies just to be sure.

Eleni quickly rushes to me. "Lets get you to a doctor!" She lifts up my shoulder and helps me walk.

"Just a second," I quickly remove his cufflinks and pluck the sword from his neck. I wrap them both in silk napkins and stuff them in my pockets.

Eleni 

I escort Philip out. He stumbles a lot. I've never been drunk, but I can imagine this is what it looks like. He turn to the restaurant - Narook's Seaweed Noodlery and shouts in a slur, "Food: 10/10, Service: I give it a 0! Would totally dine again!" He seems remarkably calm about this, considering he just got stabbed.

"Come on," I say, "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"No!" He protests, surprising me, "Take me back to the Sato Mansion."

"No, you need a doctor."

"No! I need a bloodbender!" He argues back. We grab a taxi and I take him back to the Sato estate. I offer to wrap my scarf around his wound to stem the bleeding but he rejects, "You'll just ruin a perfectly good scarf."

How can he be so calm about this? He seems to read my mind. He randomly bursts out, "Oh, I say... this sensation really brings me back..." he looks at me with happy but delirious eyes, "you know how some smells remind you of certain stages of your life, like a mouldy room reminds you of year 3? This sensation is strangely familiar... some great war." He smacks his lips together, "Reminds me of... bacon? No, I hate bacon... ah, pear smoothies that mummy used to make, back when I was 1000."

The taxi stops and he pays the driver from his own pocket. He then steps out, slightly dazed. He walks around to my side and opens the door, bowing as I exit. _He_ leads _me_ up the stairs to the pool. Seems he is a gentleman even when he has been stabbed. When we reach the pool, it is still a battlefield, but the three foreigners seem to be taking turns kissing the police chief whom I now know as Lin and some of the guards - male guards. To each their own... is that a goat?

"Hey guys!" Philip removes my arm from his shoulder, "Sorry I'm late for the party, I was having dinner with Aphrodite/Athena standing beside me and then I got stabbed," he says in a complacent, matter-of-fact voice, "all in all, it was a good night." He turns to me with apologetic eyes, "Sorry I ruined the evening by getting stabbed. Tomorrow night good for you? Now, please leave, this next part is very painful and gruesome. It's not something you should see."

With that, he collapses. This gentleman is very interesting. He seems to have many faces, one for friends, one for enemies, and one for women. He seems to also be able to wear all of them at once.

I watch in horror as his friend, probably Nicholas, bends blood from his wound and lifts it from his body. He then raises the blood away from the body and lets the dirt and other impurities fall out. I see a mass of blood swishing around. As another man explains to me, he is exciting the phagocytes to remove any bacteria from Philip's blood. It is then placed back into his body. I hear an unpleasant sound, his lung is allegedly being forced to heal at an accelerated rate. His skin then does the same. Thank goodness he's alive. Colour returns to his face, but he is still lying still.

The men pick him up and carry him back through the portal. They order I not follow, but I'm not going to listen. I follow them through a very sterile set of rooms until they finally open a door. They remove his jacket and then carefully toss him into the bed. They groan, stretch their spines and mutter some words in a foreign language.

They look at me and say in a strangely serious tone, "I'm afraid you're required to leave." Then suddenly, they change their minds. "Okay, you can stay. But take care of him. He's probably in a lot of pain right now."

They leave and I sit down in his arm chair, which is close to the bed. I see him tossing around and muttering "Someone get the children out of here... this is a war zone!" He seems distressed, I quickly realise that he is reliving his worst memory, "I've been stabbed through the chest. Lucky the bugger missed my spine. I'll be all right, just stop the blood flow, will you? There's a good chap."

He becomes quiet again. I want to talk to him. He wanted to know about me, so I'll tell him now. "I am the daughter of the Sultan of Anatolia. I am around your age, both chronologically and biologically. Though in that time, I've never really left the palace. My parents never gave me very much freedom. They monitored what I ate, with whom I talked. Even when I was studying, they were still very controlling. I guess they were just overprotective." I sigh.

Philip startles me. His eyes are still closed but he speaks, "Good."

"Pardon?"

"Anyone who leaves such a treasure unguarded is a fool..."


	6. Emperor Philip

# Constantine XII

I stand atop the great stone walls of Constantinople. My army is at the ready. Something is wrong. The Ottoman invaders should have been here hours ago. Days, even. My scouts have warned me of an Ottoman camp right outside our walls. Even I could see it in the distance. So why weren't they attacking? My scout rushes to me. His uniform is in tatters and he seems to have forgotten the correct courtesy when addressing a holy emperor. Well, I'm not really an emperor anymore. Constantinople is the only city left of this once great nation. The Ottoman people have taken my great nation and replaced it with another great nation. Good to know it's in safe hands.

My scout, he rushed up to me and he says "We searched the Ottoman camp, there aren't any survivors!"

I turn to him, "So you killed them all?"

He shakes his head. His face is pale white, "No. Something slaughtered them. Giant red imps, golems of iron and stone, floating creatures in purple robes... we tried to sneak away, but all of the scouting party died except for me. We are facing a force of pure evil!"

Come to think of it, that would explain why it is not my head scout who contacted me. I have to think about this. The slaughter of the Ottoman army is actually quite a setback. I had arranged a peaceful surrender. That would have allowed my people to remain in this city. If we are truly facing a force of pure evil, we must minimise civilian casualties. But we can't let them sweep through unopposed, or all of Europe is under threat.

I quickly write up a letter, calling for help. I can't ask the Pope, there is no way he would get involved in Eastern affairs. Who would help?

_Dear Mehmet,_

I choose him because he is the only one who can help us.

_Our empires are under threat by a force of pure evil. Already, it has destroyed your camp outside my capital and is advancing on my walls as I write. I request your immediate military aid. We must quell the threat before it can spread. I am sending my civilians to the Peloponnese, please harbour these poor people. I surrender Constantinople unto you. When this chaos is over, you can have whatever is left of the city... if there is anything._

_I pray that I am alive by the time you receive this letter._

_Yours, Constantine XII_

I hand the letter to my messenger, "Quick, dispatch this letter to Adrianople as soon as possible. And do yourself a favour - don't return!" I call it Adrianople but the Ottomans call it Edirne. It is their capital. Next, I use what little time we have left to deport all the women and children and I send them to the mainland and Italy. All the men are required to take up arms. Benders and non-benders alike. I have no doubts that these creatures are the same ones that are rumoured to have razed Moscow. If that is the case, we cannot reason with them. We cannot surrender. Quite simply - today, tomorrow, or whenever they strike, we shall either die fighting, or die surrendering. Either way, we die, but if we die fighting, we make a difference to the world.

After two days, all the civilians have thankfully been evacuated. Unfortunately, the savages have arrived. My men fire upon them. There are benders of fire, earth, water and air. Those who cannot bend are armed with either a crossbow or a musket. All the professional soldiers carry either a straight sabre or a recurved kopis as a side arm. Some of the peasants only had what they could supply - spears, pitchforks, clubs, maces, daggers and bows.

Their army was composed of golems on the front line, in the centre. On their right flank are very fast bipedal lions and cheetahs with swords instead of paws on their front legs, well, arms. There are centaurs with swords and shields on the left flank. I take it they are the heavy cavalry. Flying above them are the red imps and people in dark purple robes with black shrouds over their faces and a purple hood. A spread of purple fire comes from their hands.

Gamoto. I'm not going to tell you what that means. You'll have to work that out for yourselves.

I raise my Kopis, "FIRE THE CANONS!" I command. I hear my generals repeating my order. The canons fire off volley after volley. They make short work of the lions and centaurs that they strike, but the golems seem to be able to take at least two hits before falling. They still aren't in range of our muskets. They are getting closer. Closer...

Outside the wall, there are fortifications erected by earthbenders with small ditches around them. My men with muskets or firebending hide in there and attack. Some waterbenders inhabit ice fortifications closer to the sea. The muskets fire off. I can see the smoke. The golems make it through unphased. They have small dents and chips in their stone, but they are all largely intact and able to fight. The Centaurs and Lions aren't faring as well. They are dropping like flies.

 _KABOOM_.

A red beam strikes a fortress and it blows to pieces.

_KABOOM._

I reckon the red beams are coming from the dots on the Golem's foreheads.

_KA-KA-KA-BOOOOMMM._

That was a long one. Many golems must have done it at once. I receive word from a messenger: all the fortifications are gone.

The canons fire off again and help to reduce the golem numbers. They still haven't reached the wall.

Why do I hear chanting? The purple-robed wizards are floating. They rush to the walls. Defenders on the wall try shooting, but they are all in vein. I begin airbending at them. Air is the best element for war - so precise and lethal. I strike down one wizard. Then another, then another. The imps also fly up and try to claw out my eyes. I break their wings off with my bending.

 _KA-KA-KA-KA-BO-BOOOOO-BOOOOMMMM_.

What the hell? A guard tower collapses. This is too much. I have to fight off wizards and imps as they swoop down at me. Golems are concentrating their fire on the walls. They are facing off with the canons, and they are winning. Now, to make things worse, the lions are somehow climbing. How the hell am I supposed to distribute my energy? Wow, it's hot. I remove my royal robes and toss them down at those scaling the walls. It doesn't do anything to slow them down. Of course it wouldn't. Earthbenders at other sections of the walls are hurling down massive boulders upon the golems. I suppose that helps. Still, the more agile creatures are able to elude most of our bending attacks.

Aha. Swordbending! I remove my Kopis and start slashing at the lions as they climb up. When imps come close, I slice their heads off. I point my sword at a wizard and a large stream of air slices it into pieces. Its blood looks like purple lightning. I point my sword at another, and another. These wizards are so powerful, they are cutting down defenders like grass. Against me, however, they are falling like flies.

Another lion scaling the walls. Chop. Smashed it on the head with the bulky part of my sword, about two-thirds up. I pull my sword out and slice through the abdomen of an imp as it charges at me. Four more lions are jumping up the walls. As one pops its head up, I slice it off. I prepare to do the same to the others. However, an imp sweeps down and cuts my cheek. I fall over and the lions jump up.

Right, time to kill them off. I raise my sword and slash. But it merely bounces off their swords. My arms are aching. It's sheer adrenaline that keeps me going, but I'm afraid I'm short of that too. I have no idea what is going on. I am distracted. MY GOD, THAT WAS PAINFUL. The lion's sword punctures my lung and smashes my ribs. Black is a funny colour, isn't it? I can feel something slipping away.

Woops, that's my life.

BUGGER!


	7. Awakening

# Philip

I am awake. I rub my chest. It feels like I've just been stabbed. Oh, I have. I look to my wall. Over upon the mantle piece is a recurved Kopis sword. It is made from polished iron with a polished bronze handle. It's dripping with blood. I rub my eyes in disbelief and take a closer look. No it's not. My eyes must be playing tricks on me.

I sit up and rub my face. I feel my shirt. It is ripped. Oh joy. Meh. What are you going to do? I know what I'll do, I'll put on my bed clothes and lounge around all day. I open my wardrobe and suddenly change my mind. As I look in the mirror, I see Eleni sitting in my armchair, asleep. I'm going to risk it. I quickly unbutton my shirt and discard it. I find my dark blue shirt with a stiff, turn-down collar and quickly button it up. My suit jacket is also wrecked. Or maybe it's a coat. I slip on some black, knee-high socks and remove my trousers. I fold them up and store them away. Can't have them lying around with ladies around. I put on my brown suit trousers. I lay my brown jacket on my bed. Now - red jumper or brown waistcoat? Depends, do I want a tie? You can wear a jumper without a tie if you insist, but not a waistcoat. Anyone who says otherwise should be taken out and shot. I struggle into my jumper and place my coat on top. I put on my brown shoes and tie up the laces. Yes, I like brown.

I enter the bathroom and examine myself in the mirror. Man, my big bushy eyebrows are perfect. "Pluck those eyebrows, Philip," they say to me. They're just jealous. I take my comb and try to flatten my jungle of hair. I'm not sure if you could call it brown or black. The comb breaks in my hair. I spend some time trying to pull it out. I need a hair cut. I dampen my hands with water and pull back my hair. It looks better. Maybe I should gel it. I just can't seem to find the gel. That's right, I don't have any. I could go out and buy some, but it's more effort than it is worth. I tug my lapels and raise my eyebrows at my reflection. Time for part 2 of the perfect date. Granted, it was a bit awkward. Oh, it's still dark outside. I'm not sure it's morning.

I walk back into my bedroom. I fold the sheets aside. I reckon Eleni must be uncomfortable in my chair. I pick her up and gently place her in the bed. I then pull the sheets and blankets over her. I can't imagine she's comfortable in those clothes, but, you know. Nothing I can do about that. That'd be wrong in every possible way. I'm bored. She's in a very deep sleep. I turn off the lights as I exit through the door. I wonder if the hair dresser is open at night. Of course he is, I'm king. A king who lives in a small flat attached to a University. I should have my own house. I'm rich. I'm king. Nah, too much effort. I don't spend more than I need. I'm not into anything too lavish.

I'm not going to bore you with details about my haircut, because those details are boring. It's now about five o'clock in the morning. The sun isn't up just yet. I find the flat of my friend Nick. I knock on the door, there is no answer. I wait a while, he may just be asleep. Sod it, he's taking too long. I move further down the hallway and knock on Chris' door. "What?" Three voices and a goat shout through the door.

Dammit, they're up to it again. "Just let me in!"

"What's the password?" One of them shouts. I don't think it's the goat this time!

I sigh, "Just get dressed and come to my office. You can bring the girl but not the goat."

One last stop. I knock on another door. "Stelios! Get in your uniform and come to my office! We need to have an emergency meeting."

As I finish that, he bursts out of the door and grins like an excited baby. "Stelios," I say to him, "why are you already dressed?"

He doesn't answer. I didn't really expect him to. We just walk to my office. I open the door and we walk in. I sit at my desk and Stelios sits in one of the chairs nearby. Finally, the two idiots, Chris and Nick enter in T-shirts and jeans, Lin is following them in her metal armour. They all sit down.

Chris rubs his eyes, "So, what seems to be the problem?"

I pull out a letter from my coat. It is covered in dried blood. I adjust my glasses. "A portal has been opened to a barbarous world," I read. I cannot make out the rest, for it is covered in my blood. I guess it would now be appropriate to say 'bloody hell'. "I'm not going to give you a history lesson. You obviously don't want that. But you know about how the savages have terrorised our world for years until we finally sealed them off, back in their own world. A very brave man stayed behind to ensure they would never come back. Do you think it could be them again?"

Nicholas shakes his head, "We've instructed Ephialtes to monitor the portals. He has reported nothing suspicious."

Chris looks at Nicholas and says "Do you mean that he has not reported anything suspicious or that he specifically reported that there was nothing of suspicion?"

Chris is like that. That's how it has always been in school. I was the science geek, he was the grammar geek and Nick was the one who just didn't care. That wasn't that long ago, really. And now I'm king and they are my advisors! Haha! I was King when I turned 20. Don't worry, my parents are alive and well. It's just that dad has been talking about retirement since I was born. Come to think of it, I remember my mum saying he was planning retirement on the day of his coronation.

Lin is sat with her arms crossed. She is wearing a permanent scowl. "Are you really worried about this?" Her face softens into a smile. "My police can monitor the portal."


	8. Training

# Korra

I had better check on Philip and make sure he is okay. I heard he has been stabbed in the chest. I think I should check, just to make sure he's alive. I go through the usual process of getting there. I walk through the battleground. There is now a bridge that goes over the pool. I walk into the portal, through the lab and talk to the receptionist who takes me to a large outdoor arena with a metal, wire fence. Its purpose seems to be for training.

I hear shouts coming from it and see two men, dressed in linen armour and... skirts made from linen straps and protected with a plumed helmet that covers everything except the eyes, nose and mouth. They are wearing skirts, but they look very manly. They have thick hair on their legs and arms. I see three other man standing in a line with their arms folded, they are dressed in the same manner but their helmets are on a table. There is also a woman who looks both impressed and mortified. I think she is Eleni, but I'm not so sure.

The two men fight with large, thin poles and short, wooden swords. None of them have shields. One man wears a black helmet, the other wears a bronze-coloured one with sideways red plumes. The other men have unnaturally coloured helmets of matte red, blue and green.

The man with the black helmet - I'll call him black man - is dominating the battle. He is not very quick on his feet but doesn't rely on brute strength. When the two swords clash, he often would leave it there for a while and press forward before suddenly lifting it and smashing his foe's chest. He spins around and strikes, only to be blocked. His foe crashes his sword onto his helmet and rattles it. The black man is clearly annoyed. The intensity and rate of his attacks increases until it is just short of a berserker attack. With one final strike, his red-plumed foe falls to the ground.

The man with the black helmet whips off his helmet, points his sword to the sky and roars in victory. The defeated man pulls off his helmet and lets it roll away, only to be stopped by the fence. The winner lifts up the loser. I am now close enough to hear what he is saying "You all right mate? Good, good. Right, who's next?" None of them seem to have any fight left in them. "No challengers? Good. I'm exhausted." And with that, he collapses to the ground and pants.

I finally reach him. "Philip, good to see you back and kicking butt." Philip winces at me saying that. I continue "If you're an airbender, why are you training with swords?"

Philip stands up. I hear a large cracking sound. "Sorry," he says "that was my knees. They were my knees? Whatever. So what were you asking?"

I repeat, "If you're an airbender, why are you training with swords?"

Philip is in a happy explanation mood now. His voice changes. It becomes slightly more eccentric and gravelly. "Ah. Well, you see, in the military, bending is used but swords are preferred in close combat roles. Bending was great in the middle ages during one-on-one battles, but now that we have moved to disciplined and efficient regiments, bending is limited to simple attacks. Swords are much more reliable and can guarantee a kill."

I nod. I have no idea what he is talking about. Entire wars were fought with bending. I ask "Do you practice bending for any purpose other than war?"

Chris, the man with a much deeper voice than Philip says "Bending is purely a military form with some day to day uses such as starting a fire or "

"using bloodbending to heal wounds." Nick, the scrawny one cuts in.

"Yes, I was going to say that, eventually."

"You should have said that first, it's an important skill. Remember that time I reattached a head after a training accident."

"All right, all right. I get it. Just shut up for a moment."

Philip interrupts their bickering. "We need to get to the change room now. I take it you'll want to wait out here, Korra. Nah, you can come. You're into girls, not boys, right?"

I fold my arms with confidence and smirk, "Oh, I'm into everything - boys, girls, you name it."

"Us too, well, not Philip. Maybe you should come around one day." Chris, I think his name was, says.

Tempting offer. I'll ask Philip. "Should I accept?"

He smiles, "Just tell them to keep the goat out of it."

Chris seems very angry, but I can tell he's smiling. "For the Gods' sake, Philip, you bang a goat once and the king never lets you hear the end of it..."

Philip puts on a very authoritative tone, "I told you, goats are for milking and making cheese, nothing else."

We enter the changing room. Philip thought it would be indecent for me to follow them, but the boys insisted. They clean themselves off with damp towels. They pull off their armour and skirts, which seem to be connected. Philip is remarkably skinny. His forearms are a somewhat tanned olive colour, but the rest of his skin is pale white. Chris actually has quite the stomach. Nick is _very_ skinny. I can see his bones.

They open their draws and remove their clothes from the coat hangers. Philip gets dressed in brown, brown, white and some red. He pushes up his hair until it is standing and curly. He puts his glasses on and sighs in relief. Then he sighs in frustration. He takes them off, fishes around in his pocket and removes a small cloth, with which he cleans the lenses.

Philip doesn't seem to bother with a belt. He struts out to the door. He opens it, turns around and says "Right, now, I have important business to attend to. Wait, no, you can't end a sentence in 'to'... I have important business to attend."

The two boys smile, "He is on a date." They both look each other in the eyes, "Ah, you said the same thing at the same time."

The door opens again and Philip sticks his head in and holds a black object with a glass screen, "Oh, by the way, I talked to Ephialtes and he is going to teach Korra about our history and bending and war and stuff. Would you take her to the grounds?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Philip and his friends are wearing armour typical of the Hoplites of Sparta and the rest of ancient Greece.


	9. Unfinished business

# Eleni

Where am I? Ah, that's right. I'm in Philip's room, in his bed. But wait, I should be in his arm chair. This is strange. I'm still in my formal clothes. The faintest rays of the early morning sun hit my eyes. Time to get up, I guess. I pull off the sheets and leave the bed. I then fold the sheets back over. I don't want to leave his room in a mess. I explore his bathroom. There are white walls and white tiles. There are white towels and even the towel rack is white. I open the white cupboards under the basin to find a bottle of shaving gel, a bottle of aftershave and a razor. There is a generic brand of shampoo. The most exciting thing there is a broken comb on the table top that seems to have been abandoned very recently.

His desk is much more interesting. There is an open book. On one page, there is a very formal letter, addressed to 'The governor of the South' and on the other side is his reply. Both are handwritten in the same handwriting. I look in the bin next to his desk and pull out a piece of paper. I unscrunch it. It is the letter from the governor but in different handwriting. I close the book and look at the spiral, it says _Communication Log_. Here are all his diplomatic secrets. My father would be proud. His own daughter, a spy. Then again, Philip trusted me enough to let me in his house and even put me in his bed when he left.

Aha. There is a loose piece of paper with a scribbled message. I read it aloud, "Dear Eleni, thank you for looking after me and staying by me. I woke up and got dressed, eager to continue the date. However, it was dark when I woke up, so I decided to have a meeting with my friends and play with swords. You looked uncomfortable so I put you in my bed." There is a big blotch of ink on the bottom of the paper. It appears he forgot to clean the nib of his pen and put the lid on the ink well. He must have run off in a hurry. So, I use the ink-covered cloth, wipe the tip and put the lid on it.

I pick up a leather bound journal. This seems to be his private diary. It is written in very formal English. It seems that as soon as he holds a pen, he is incapable of speaking casually. There are big gaps between the updates in his journal. He only seems to write when he deems it important.

> _Personal log of Philip Hellene, Day 265, year of our lord, 1900._
> 
> The natives of Asia are actually rather pleasant. I have located the Avatar and wish to commence studying her. If only I could have an excuse to extract her blood, for my scientists assure me that is the key to her remarkable ability to bend more than one element.
> 
> I wish to speak on a more personal note, however. By chance, I had the pleasure of encountering a rather lovely lady - an Ottoman by the name of Eleni. She possesses all the virtues I admire and none of the vices I despise. The English language is not sufficient in describing my feelings for her. Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of any other languages. I should assume that they too are insufficient. In short, I should like to learn more about her and associate with her more frequently.

"Well, that was short," I think aloud. I never think aloud, except for when I feel I am not alone.

"Indeed it was," Philip is behind me. He must be very mad at me. But he's not. He looks rather amused. I hand him the diary.

"I swear, I only read that one page. I was just curious, I'm sorry."

He hands the diary back to me, "Read it all, if you wish. It's just full of harmless diplomatic secrets. Take it to your father, maybe, call it an early birthday present. I'm sure he'd appreciate that."

He seems very serious, not about that, but about something else. I ask him, "You seem tense, what's wrong?"

I can see the doubt written all over his face, as if he took a marker and wrote it on every inch of his skin in every possible language. He speaks in a colder but less certain voice than usual, "Well, you know how I feel now. And... well... sorry, words fail me. Just, um, do you want to accompany me to afternoon tea? It would be a great pleasure."

I don't even have to think about it. The answer is yes. Though I'm not quite sure exactly what tea is. Philip explains to me when we are sitting down at the ornate table. "Tea is an Asian product," he says, "I obtained quite a bit of it from the natives. We have since started growing it and improved upon it. We have made it stronger, darker, and added milk."

Philip brings a plate of sandwiches. They are crustless and so thin that you hardly have to open your mouth to eat them. They have a cucumber and tuna filling. They are delightful. Philip sips his tea and takes small bites of his sandwiches.

I look into the distance. This place is so different from my homeland. My country is a desert. People crowd around whatever source of water they can find. It is very hot there, even inside my royal palace. It makes it hard to sleep. This land, on the other hand, is a deep emerald green. The sun is soft and orange. The breeze is gentle and cooling, as opposed to the blistering heat of winds that might as well be on fire. I seem to lose focus on all else. Sometimes I see Philip's satisfied smile from the corner of my eyes.

Finally, he breaks me out of my trance, "Are you a firebender?"

"No, I'm an airbender. Why?"

"Your tea is getting cold," he replies cheekily. He holds the cup, "Actually, it's stone cold. Wait here, I'll get you another one."


	10. History lesson

# Korra

I have been escorted to the grounds, as Philip called them. He is dressed rather casually, like the others. His arms are folded and he has a bit of a smirk. Unlike the others, who have dark, brown hair, his is blond and straight. It's amazing how soon you will start to miss straight hair. Like Asami's nice, straight hair. Or even Mako's.

He unfolds his arms. It seems everyone here has their arms folded before they greet people. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Ephialtes. I hear you are Avatar Korra." He extended his hand, which I shook.

I then bowed to him, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ephialtes. Philip says you are going to teach me about Britannia."

He smiles and places his hand on my shoulder in a friendly manner, "I'll teach you much more than just Britannia. I'll tell you about the whole of Europe. Now, where do you want to begin?"

I suppose I want to know how there is a separate world and how Philip can just walk in and out of them. "How does this world exist, why is it different to mine?"

"I don't know exactly. Nobody does. The legends have it that there were three worlds all joined together - Europe, Asia and Lydia. Then came fire, great fire from the skies. The landmasses were ripped apart and engulfed in great purple rays. A great spirit descended and tormented us. He destroyed our cities and plunged us into a dark age. We used to live in harmony with the spirits, but since then, all the spirits turned against us. Sooner or later, the humans fought back, and now there are no more spirits in Europe." He explains.

This is shocking. "So you killed them all?"

He nods. "Regrettably, yes. Those that did not flee into Lydia and Asia were slaughtered. Every last one of them."

"And they never came back?"

He shocks me with the reply. "They came back many times. From Lydia, they became fiercer creatures than before. They ravaged the lands and burnt down many great cities. They tore down an empire. The textbooks say that Emperor Constantine the eleventh fought his final battle atop the walls of his great capital. That was the first time the Lydians were defeated in battle. Unfortunately, the Emperor did not survive. Though he was found with the bodies of their many corpses scattered around him."

I am enthralled by this tale. This place has an awesome history. "And then what?"

"One man - a man born of a Raven, so says the legends - gathered up a powerful arsenal and drove them back to their own world. Once inside, he sealed the portal. He trapped himself inside. Since then, they never bothered us again."

I should press for more information, but he clearly seems uncomfortable about it. It's almost rather suspicious. I ask another question, though. "Why is your bending so rigid and basic? Why is it only for war?"

He seems to loosen up and relax. "Philip was exaggerating. It's very important to us. We just appreciate it in different ways. We don't study how to bend, but rather _how we bend_."

"What do you mean?"

He replies, "Philip is leading a research team to find out just exactly how we bend and if it is possible to bend more than one element without being the Avatar."

More than one element... without being the Avatar. That sounds like it could be very dangerous. I need to take my time and get used to all of this, then I can talk to Philip. I decide to let his comment slide. "But why is it so rigid and warlike? Do you enjoy war in Europe?"

"No, of course not. Nobody likes war!" The bastard. I can tell he is lying by his massive grin. "Still, bending is more rigid because of where bending originated. It started in Greece. Greece is very narrow and mountainous, so bending had to develop as something rather cramped. And since bending was developed in cities, we had to be careful not to damage anything."

"What do you mean 'we'? You're talking as if you were there," I realise and tell him so.

He shakes his head dismissively, "Figure of speech, my dear. Any more questions?"

I do have one more question. I know the first human benders were given it by the lion turtles. I wonder how the first humans got bending here. I ask Ephialtes about that. He tells me about four friends whose names are now long forgotten that developed the arts in ancient times - during a great war. A war that would decide the fate of Human civilisation. I have no further questions, so I don't ask. This guy is so rigid that I don't believe polite conversation would be of any use.

I decide to go for a walk around the University grounds. It is very refreshing and I am able to clear my mind. I sit with my legs crossed by a lake and green field. It is very quiet here. The only noises are the birds and men in striped blazers rowing. There is the occasional couple walking, arm in arm. It's quite sweet seeing love blossoming. It reminds me of Asami. Maybe I should take her here one day. I wouldn't mind retiring here - if the Avatar could retire. Maybe if Philip succeeds with his work on all four elements, I may be able to retire.

I close my eyes and clear my mind. The sound of birds and rowing men falls away. Now, I can only hear my thoughts, but they sound as though they are being spoken. I can see my thoughts, but it feels as though I am standing in them. I see the field around me catch alight. Philip is the only man standing. Blood is dripping from his forehead. He is bending fire at me. He bends water from the river at me as well. I extinguish the flame and tear the water into its individual droplets. He throws a large rock. I break it with my fist. Finally, he throws a large gust of wind that knocks me over. "No meditating here!"

I stand up. Actually, I'm still sitting. The vision fades and I am jolted from my meditation. I am taking very quick and deep breaths, although they are probably very shallow, actually. On second thoughts, maybe I shouldn't retire here. This place isn't very kind to spirits. This place is giving me the creeps, real bad.


	11. Breakthrough

# Nicholas

This is some fiddly work. I am injecting a form of purple goo from the Tree of Time into many, small containers. We have screened it many times, to no avail. We think it belongs to the Spirit-God Vaatu. We came close to a major breakthrough, only for the bloody samples to go missing in the night. It was an inside job, I tell you. There was no sign of a break-in, no unauthorised fingerprints.

I close the box and carry it to Chris who will analyse the samples. This time, we're keeping them secured. I turn to my next subject, a preserved bone of Avatar Kyoshi. I extract what I can from the bone and store it away for analysis. We believe that the key to bending more than one element, or _polybending_ , as Philip dubbed it, may lie in the blood of the Avatar. The legends say that the first Avatar gained this great ability when he merged with the deity Raava. When merging with spirits, it is permanent and changes can be observed in the blood. But what if those changes seen in the blood _are_ the changes.

We know that airbenders, firebenders, waterbenders, non-benders and earthbenders all have different types of blood. Simply mixing them together won't work. They simply won't mix. Sort of like putting olive oil on water. You can shake it, you can stir it, but you cannot mix it without it forming bubbles and separating into two distinct layers. What we need is a binding agent, and I suspect that is within Avatar blood. Or there may be something different about it all together.

"Hey, what are you doing?" A rather strong American voice asks.

I look through my microscope at a sample of my own blood. I am a waterbender. All blood looks the same until you examine it closely. I think if I ignore her, she may just go away.

"What are you doing?" She asks with _more_ enthusiasm.

'Ssshhhuuuutttt uuuupppp,' I think to myself. If I give her a quick answer, she may go away. "I am examining the blood of different benders."

"Oooohhhh," she sounds like she is trying to understand what _blood_ means, "can I see?"

I suppose it will do no harm if she has a quick look. I hand her control of the microscope and spend a few minutes explaining how she looks through it. "You see those blue wisps through the blood, that means it is the blood of a waterbender. It is green in earthbenders, white in airbenders and yellow in firebenders. We could try to combine them together, but they just won't mix."

"Aaaahhhhh," she is pretending to understand again, "why not? What happens if they mix?"

Her stupidity hurts. "Nothing," I reply through my teeth, "nothing happens because they **cannot** mix."

She continues asking stupid questions. I need her to shut up. "Look, could you please be quiet? I have a very difficult job to do and you're making it more difficult."

"Sorry," she sounds genuine, "hey, how can I help?"

"I don't suppose you can tell me how the Avatar keeps her blood together..."

"No," she apologises, "but I can show you."

As I instruct, she pricks her finger and a single drop of blood drips onto a glass slide. Surely enough, there is something different about it. The wispy strains are tied together, like a knot. There seems to be a glowing cyan liquid, a protein perhaps, that coats every single strand. They don't seem to exist on ours. I convince her to give me a blood sample, which is surprisingly easy to do. I take a few vials and store them away for safekeeping, ready to be processed. By examining the purple goop, the bone fragments and Korra's blood, I reckon I'll have the polybender serum ready by the end of the week.

It was rather funny seeing that the all-powerful Avatar was afraid of a little needle. I gave her a lollypop and she was all better. I wonder if children are really afraid of vaccinations and blood tests, or if it's just a child conspiracy to get lollies.

I push up my sleeve and look at my watch. Work time is over! I take off my white coat and hang it up on a coat hanger. I begin to unbutton my shirt and take it off.

"Wow, wow, wow, what are you doing?" Korra is shocked.

I take off my shirt, leaving my tea shirt underneath. I put on my casual jacket and walk to the door. I open the door and look back to her, "Well, aren't you coming out?"

She stood defensively, "Okay, I admit it, I like a girl. Big deal, so what?"

Wrong coming out. Big deal. I just point to the door with my thumb and walk out. She must have realised what I meant because now she is following me. I am convinced that intelligence is just something you are born with. It's not how much you know, it's a passion for learning, it's also how quickly you learn new things. It has nothing to do with education or upbringing. Some people are just dumb and there is nothing you can do about it.

Still, sometimes smart people can make mistakes. Like when my dad confused incense and incest... in church. "Wow, I can smell the incest, it's very nice." My brother and I were giggling through the whole service.


	12. The Shores of Hell

# Lin

Guard duty is boring. We spend all day waiting outside this portal. On His Majesty Philip's orders, we have fortified the entrance. We are not allowed to go in because it may be dangerous. I'm not going in. I may be bored, but I'm not stupid. There are plenty of ways to pass the time when guarding. You can polish your armour... or polish your armour... or perhaps, if you are really bored, you can polish your armour.

Finally, something is happening. I hear what sounds like a bow being pulled back and an arrow being released. A large green bolt flies through the portal and crashes into our defences, making the portal fizz. I can hear a growl. Suddenly, more growls and more bows being pulled back. "Quick! Take cover!" I order my men. We dive behind the walls. The portal fizzes again and a flurry of arrows explodes on our rock walls, leaving minimal damage. The growls are becoming angrier and more determined. They unleash a relentless bombardment. Still, it's no use. They will never break through. It's no use just standing here and waiting for them to run out.

I take out the black device that I was gifted. They called it a _mobile phone_ and explained to me how to use one. I press on the blue tile with a picture of something curved and I dial a number. It seems like a smaller, portable version of the phones in Republic City. I call for help from the local garrison. Hopefully they get here in time.

"Bend rocks in the direction of their arrows," I order, "maybe we can hit one of them!"

Whenever they fire, we stand up and throw a rock back. The amount of growls does not change, so I can assume we've been unsuccessful. As one of my men stands, he is struck in the chest with a bolt. He is fine. It turns out their bolts can't damage armour. That's good to know.

_STOMP. STOMP. STOMP. STOMP._

That can't be good. Great stone beasts stomp through the portal. I raise my arm above my head, lifting a large rock. I pull my arm back to my waist and hurl the rock at one of the golems. It crashes into one of them and fades to dust. Wait, they are stone. I get a good feel of them and try to rip them apart. It doesn't work. Metal would just bend on them and rocks can't harm them.

Then, comes the tell-tale sounds of bows being drawn. There comes a volley of bolts. One strikes me in my chest. While it has not harmed me, it has greatly increased my pulse. I can feel my heart beating within the armour. I feel quite constricted. I have no time to recover. I roll out of the way of one of the golems as it tries to punch me. I snag its legs with my metal cables and push it over. When it falls, it shatters into many pieces.

"Trip them over, they will be vulnerable!" I order my men. I flick up my wrist and raise a large column underneath one, tipping it over. It appears they are so top-heavy, once they fall down, they never get up.

They are soon dealt with. That was exhausting. My chest is tightening. This is getting a lot harder. So far, only one of our men has died. That leaves about four of us. I dab my brow with a handkerchief that Chris gave me. I hope to make the most of the ceasefire. I duck back down when I hear the bows being drawn. Fortunately, they are so loud that they give us a few moments of warning.

_ROAR._ That sounded like a lion. Bipedal lions, roughly the size of a man, jump through the portal. They lunge over our make-shift fortifications and start slashing at us with their sword arms. I suffer numerous strikes to my armour. I form the metal of my sleeve into a sword and slash off the heads of my attackers. There are over a dozen of them and only four of us. I raise my arm to prevent a sword from crashing down on my head. I kick the lion back with a strike to the chest. I swing at its head. It ducks and I miss. I thrust at it. It side-steps. I swing my foot at it and form a blade from the metal of my shoe. I worked a treat and impaled the bugger.

One of the lions is lucky enough to lop the head off one of my officers. Unlike the others, he wears copper-golden armour and his sword, bearing a green glow, seems enchanted. I throw my cables at him. He parries them away with his sword and slightly frays one of them. I quickly withdraw them back into my spool. I throw a stone at him but he dodges and lunges at me. He jumps. Things seem to slow down. With my leg, I erect a large stone pillar which strikes it in the chest and knocks it over. Time to finish him off.

_Setlaihpe. Set-lai-h-pe. Set-lai-hp-e_. Sounds like chanting. I ready myself for the new attackers. Their noises are so loud that I fail to hear the Archer's bows being drawn back. I am struck with the arrows repeatedly as I try to fight off the purple-robed invaders. They must have realised that I am their leader and want to take me down from a distance. The arrows knock me around until I realise that I am the only one left.

Whenever I am struck by a bolt or purple energy, my heart beats a lot faster for a few seconds, only to crash to a record low each time. I throw a few boulders at them but I lack the co-ordination to aim properly, and fail to land a single hit. My vision is blurry. I can feel my heart pumping slower and harder as every microsecond goes by.

A red arrow emerges through the haze and crashes into me. This is it. My vision is so blurry that all is but a white haze. I can no longer feel my heart beating. I am very light-headed. I collapse to the ground. _I am dead_.

Suddenly, I can see my body. I can see my dead, limp body lying on the ground. So I am dead! How can I see myself? I am aware of my surroundings. The field is now littered with the remains of the wall and dead bodies. It appears the local garrison arrived and many of them perished. Aside from that, the attackers seem to have been cleared out. Only four people remain at the site - Philip, Chris, Nicholas and Stelios. I see Philip is touching the portal. The portal flashes away with a red light.

Nicholas stands over my body, "Philip, come over here! Lin's dead."

All I can see is a purple glow before my vision fades into nothing. Not white, nor black. It is nothing that can be described, since humans never have to experience nothingness in their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The enemies are based on enemies from the games Heretic, HeXen and HeXen II.


End file.
